Small Study: Negative Emotions May Increase Perception Of Pain.

NPR (2/19, Hamilton) reports in its “Shots” blog and on its “All Things Considered” program reports that a study in the current issue of the Journal of Neuroscience suggests that “positive emotions — like feeling calm and safe and connected to others — can minimize pain,” whereas “negative emotions tend to have the opposite effect.” Researchers arrived at these conclusions after monitoring “the brain waves of a dozen people” who were asked to take part in a series of experiments.